A person in Mexico died after contracting a strain of bird flu that hasn’t been seen in humans before, the World Health Organization said Wednesday.
The virus was detected in a patient who had been hospitalized in Mexico City, marking the first confirmed human case of a strain of bird flu known as H5N2, the WHO said in a statement. The death raises questions about a strain of bird flu that has largely been under the radar. The current bird flu outbreak in US cattle is being driven by a different strain — H5N1.
Authorities do not know where the patient was exposed to the virus, though the strain of avian influenza has been reported in poultry in Mexico.
No other H5N2 cases have been identified in humans, according to WHO.